Mary Williams lived in Tent City after her family was removed from land owned by a white man. Here is her recollection:

"We were asleep on the cot when this loud noise came. I jumped up. Earlie didn't realize he was shot at first. There was a stream of blood on the white sheet as he came across the bed. They had shot right into the bed. It could well have been me or the baby.

"He had his head resting on his arm and the bullet went into part of his arm and out. It missed his head by an inch. The baby was sleeping between us. I put my hand to the tent wall and shouted. We took him to Memphis to be treated.

"Two weeks after that, they came back shooting again. But our men had started sleeping outside to protect the women and children while they slept. When the white men came back, all up and down the line, you could hear the pow, pow. Our people shot the tires on the car.

"They were young teen-agers and the law didn't do anything to them, chastised them and let them go.

"The children were so scared. They would cling onto our legs.

"Then Mr. Talmo Johnson from Chester County drove up one day. He introduced himself and said he was looking for someone to come sharecrop.

"We were scared. We'd gotten scared of everybody. We just wanted to register to vote. It shouldn't give anybody a reason to kill you. We hadn't done or said anything to anybody that was wrong.

"It was such a good offer and we trusted Talmo Johnson. He showed us his land and told us we could make a good living.

"We have had such a good life because people were so friendly. Mrs. Johnson would can her fruits and vegetables and then help me can. We got our chance to move up.

"There was some land for sale, but we had no credit and no money. Then Ernest Flatt said, "I know you're trying hard and you're good people. If you want this place instead of renting you can buy it. He let us choose how much we would pay.